Paneer, Millet and Dudhi Koftas – Airfryer Recipe

November 12, 2015

Recipe for a delicious kofta using leftovers and no need to deep fry as it is made in the airfryer

Quite a few people pinged me to ask about the usefulness of airfryers when the pre festive season online sales were on. I am assuming many of you have gone ahead and bought one. If you haven’t bought it, this recipe goes to prove that the airfryer is good to make many more dishes healthier than just fries.

These koftas are the perfect way to rescue some leftover cooked millets (you can use any leftover cooked grains such as rice, broken wheat, quinoa etc.). I added some paneer and a piece of bottle gourd, that we seem to have a growth spurt of, in our kitchen garden – a sort of party for all the leftover things!

Add herbs and flavourings of choice, and a binding agent such as breadcrumbs, mashed potato or some flour, bind, shape and air fry and you have these flavoursome crispy bites ready to go with tea or into a curry (shortcut curry tip at the end of the post).

I’ve kept the flavours minimalistic – just the grated ginger, coriander and green chillies – you can add whatever else you like – for example basil and garlic. You can also add grated carrot or zucchini or finely chopped bell pepper to the koftas.

If you don’t have an airfryer, you can bake them on a lined baking tray for 15 minutes or so, or flatten them a bit and shallow fry in a pan instead.

In a large bowl, knead and mash the paneer and cooked millets together.

Squeeze out all the water from the grated bottle gourd and add it to the bowl, along with all other ingredients, including 2 tsp oil. Keep aside 1 tsp oil.

The rice flour and cooked millets should help bind the dough well.

Divide into 10 portions and roll between palms into smooth balls / koftas.

Preheat airfryer at 190 celsius (4-5 mins).

Meanwhile brush the koftas with remaining 1 tsp oil.

In preheated airfryer, place the koftas and set timer to 12 minutes. The koftas are ready when it is golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Serve hot with a coriander chutney as a snack or add it to a gravy / curry base to make a kofta curry, that goes well with a pulao, plain rice or rotis.

Recipe Notes

Add the koftas in a gravy to make a kofta curry.

TIP: To make an instant curry base, use a packet of readymade bhuna masala (ginger-garlic-tomato-onion paste). Saute it for 2-3 minutes in a pan. Whisk together 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup water and 1 tbsp chickpea flour (besan) and add it the sauteed bhuna masala in the pan. Bring this to a simmer. Adjust seasonings. Just before serving, add the koftas to this and coat well in curry. Serve immediately